Solo Trip: Bali Bliss

I have caught the traveling bug and while some may say it’s an expensive addiction, I think it’s priceless. Without travel, you can’t really know and appreciate the place you’ve come from. That may seem like a weird concept to someone who hasn’t travelled but it’ll hit home once you see a few different countries. It makes you appreciative of the life that you’re fortunate enough to have. Traveling opens your eyes, it broadens your horizons and more importantly it’s empowering.

I have mentioned before that I’ve been fortunate enough to get a position this year which allows me to travel from time to time. Later this month, I’ve got an opportunity to do some trials out in the middle of nowhere in Western Australia. We’re going to be there for a week with no internet, phone reception, or civilisation. What are we doing there? Blowing things up! Okay, so that makes the no connection to the outside world shock a little easier to bare. I’m quite excited for this because it’s not an opportunity a lot of others would ever get, and one thing I’ve learnt in the past few months is to cease every single opportunity you can get. You’ll learn something from every experience and it’ll make for a good story if things go pear shaped. I have been told that all you can see is a red horizon and a clear night sky free from the city smog.

The advantage of working straight for two weeks is getting a long time off work right after. This is where my next bit of news comes in: I’m going to Bali for a short vacation. Oh, and I’m going alone.

I’ve never been one to shy away from a quiet night in. I love me-time, but it’s completely different when you’re in public surrounded by groups of tourists who are either with their significant other, family, friends or someone of importance in their life. Being alone in public is probably one of my biggest fears, and possibly our generations. Who doesn’t freak out at the thought of people thinking they are a loner? And so we hurriedly grab our phone and start typing a message to a particular no one. This is one of the reasons behind why I decided to challenge myself and travel somewhere alone.

Those of you who know me, or have been following my posts know that I like to quote Elizabeth Gilbert a lot. I found her journey of self-discovery inspirational and one I think is important for everyone to experience. You could almost say that I’m amongst the thousands of women that are following in her footsteps and taking the plunge. I have already explored my fair share of India being brought up there, I’ve eaten my weight in carbs in Italy and now I’m venturing out to enjoy some solo Bali bliss. Honestly speaking, I never planned to do a trip alone, I never planned for it to be Bali, it just all fell into place thanks to some circumstances.

I think this trip is important for me because I want it to be a journey of self-discovery. I want to be able to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. I have never really had a problem in asking for directions, or being proactive whilst traveling, and for these reason a solo trip is easier for me than for some others. I love engaging with locals and letting the journey unfold so the physical discovery of Bali and in particular Ubud is what excites me. What terrifies me is what will be waiting for me: feelings of loneliness and awkwardness. I almost want to embrace these feelings and let them bring me back to centre. I’ll have no one to rely on, but on the other hand I can do exactly as I please on my trip, because that’s exactly what it is – my trip.

4 responses to “Solo Trip: Bali Bliss”

Hi Anna! Long time no talk here. How are you doing? I hope you’ll check your blog sometime soon. I want to tell you that I’m enjoying reading your travels section especially “Bali” & “New Zealand” as I’m prepping and planning for my upcoming sabbatical of living and travelling abroad! 🙂 When you have time, can you please let me know the must-dos & sees for New Zealand since you grew up there? 🙂 I’ll be in New Zealand next February for my yoga teacher training and plan to stay there after to travel around. Is 2 weeks enough? I actually have so many questions to ask you including Bali & Australia too! Any suggestions/tips from you would be truly appreciated! ^^ Hope to hear from you soon! XO, Violet

Hi Violet, I shall reply to both the comments on here.
Ive been well but very busy and haven’t found time to write any posts!
Wow good on you for taking on that adventure! 2 weeks I think may be just enough if you want a taste of things. I would recommend the South Island – queenstown (must have the ferg burger there!!), christchurch, wanaka, milford sounds, fiordlands, napier. Also franz jospeh glazier is said to be amazing. For the north island, in the summer everywhere is divine. Auckland, 90 mile beach, bay of islands, coromandel peninsula, rotorua, taupo, mt manganui, wellington (capital but nothing great there). I would try and push it to three but i think you can squeeze things in with one week at each island.

In terms of australia, i thoroughly enjoyed NSW (one of the states) and would recommend that and queensland (another state). In NSW you must go to sydney, blue mountains for some hikes, wollongong, port stephens, hunter valley (great vineyards), then theres byron bay. In queensland theres the sunshine coast and cairns which i havent been to but have heard are great for snorkelling and diving. Great barrier reef would also be amazing!! I really want to do queensland properly. Ive only done gold coast which is like the party place with all the theme parks. Not missing out if you skip it. With NSW you can just pick a few as thats a lot of distance.

In terms of melbourne. Melbourne is an experience. Its got great bars, cafes with divine coffee and brunches, culture (china town), nice people, great shopping. It doesnt have many touristy things in the city itself – but i just think youve to experience the city and youll love it. Outside of melbourne – there are other places in victoria (state melbourne is in). For this i would recommend doing the great ocean road – drive it from melbourne to port campbell stopping in towns between – 12 apostles are not to be missed at sunset. This is about 4-5 hours from melbourne. If you go the other side from melbourne you get mornington peninsula which has phillip island (great for viewing penguins), wilsons prom is also nice ive heard. Yarra valley is the wine region in victoria and maybe a 1-2 hour from melbourne. The grampians are 3 hours from melbourne and offer some great hikes.

Ive done perth but i didnt love it – too far away to do similar things as the east coast. Although ive heard driving the coast line there is spectacular also.

Wow! Thanks so much for the informative details Anna! I really appreciate it. 🙂 I’ve been busy too, so haven’t had time to write any posts, and I only have time now to check your replies. ^^ Hope you’re enjoying the weekend!! Chat soon, Violet